1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an earphone and an earphone wire equipped with a tying portion that prevents the earphone wire from becoming entangled with itself. The tying portion is easily wound around the rest of the earphone wire which is longitudinally folded when the earphone is not in use, resulting in a tidy and compact shape. The configuration of the tying portion of the wire can be also applied to power cords, USB wires, transmission wires and other device wires to share the benefits of the present invention.
2. Description of the Related Art
In comparison with a headphone, an earphone known as an earbud has been commonly used to listen to music or auditory information with MP3 players, CD players or mobile phones in public places such as public transportation and public building, without disturbing others due to its fitness in the user's ear.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional earphone comprising: a speaker portion (11) worn in both ears; a branch line portion (12) wherein one side thereof is connected to the speaker portion (11); a single line portion (14) wherein one side thereof is connected to a joint portion wherein the two strands of the branch line portion (12) are collected; and a connection portion (15) disposed at the other end of the single line portion (14) to be connected to a terminal of a sound system.
A joint portion wherein the branch line portion (12) and the single line portion (14) are connected can include a stopper (13) which prevents the branch line portion (12) from being further split. The stopper (13) can be constructed using a hollow tube into which the single line portion (14) is inserted.
In addition, the speaker portion (11) can be secured on the user's exterior acoustic meatus by means of a mounting hook.
A conventional earphone often tends to fall out of the ear and causes discomfort since a long earphone wire is likely to be stuck with the user's arms or other objects while using.
When the earphone is not in use, most of the user usually wind the earphone wire around a portable electronic device or leave an earphone in the bag without organizing an earphone wire, in either case, an earphone wire easily gets entangled and causes discomfort.
Taking such problems into consideration, prior arts in the field introduces a variety of earphone wire organizer.
Referring to FIGS. 2(a) and (b), a wire rolling portion (400) installed with a torsion spring is equipped in the middle of an earphone wire (10) in order to wind an earphone wire (10) and prevent an earphone wire from being entangled with itself. However, using the wire rolling portion (400) with the torsion spring makes the earphone assembly complicate and bulky.
In the same way, FIG. 2(c) refers to an earphone with a wire roller (500) which rolls up an earphone wire. However, it is inconvenient for a user to carry the wire roller when using the earphone, and the bulky structure of the earphone assembly is also a common problem.
Korea Utility Model No. KR20-0462710Y1 describes an earphone with a case storing an extensible wire which is in the form of a helical coil spring like telephone wire as illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the earphone has two limitations; having a relatively long length even when compressed and needing an additional case to hold the coiled wire. Both limitations make the earphone bulky and inconvenient in daily use.
Referring to FIG. 4, Korea Laid-Open Pat. Publication No. KR10-2001-0111351A describes an earphone with a winder facilitating wind and unwind the first earphone wire, and the second earphone wire formed into a helical coil spring. The winder needs an additional case to roll up the first wire and the second wire is extensible. The earphone assembly with the first and second wire is too bulk to be portable for the user.
Korea Utility Model No. KR20-0397054Y1 describes an earphone wire connector (40) as shown in FIG. 19. The earphone wire connector (40) which is made of thermoplastic polymer by molding, comprises a body (41) and a pair of tension rib (43, 44). An earphone wire freely moves through the opening (42) of the body (41).
A pair of tension rib (43,44) is protruded from the side of the body (41) and spaced from each other. An earphone wire is forcibly inserted into a gap having the smaller width compared to the diameter of the earphone wire, between a pair of tension rib (43,44) wherein an inner space (46) therebetween conforms to the outer shape of the earphone wire.
However, it is inconvenient for a user to use the tension rib structure for the earphone assembly since it requires excessive force to insert or release the wire through the opening (42), and only one strand of the wire is allowed to be secured by a pair of tension rib (43,44).